Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

October 23, 2009 by Dennis Amith 

“In the words of Detective Cameron…”Thrill Me!”  And for 23-years, this film has continued to thrill fans and has literally become a film that has achieved cult status.  Director Frank Dekker gets his wish for a release of a Director’s Cut with his original intended ending and fans of the film are treated to a reunion by the original cast 23-years later and also a tribute to the career of Tom Atkins.  Definitely an enjoyable DVD release and a great tribute to one of the more hilarious comedy horror films ever created.  Highly recommended!”

Image courtesy of © 1986 TriStar Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut

DURATION: 90 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 1:85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby Digital

COMPANY: TRI STAR

RATED: UNRATED

RELEASED: October 27, 2009

Written and Directed by Fred Dekker

Executive Produced by Bill Finnegan

Produced by Charles Gordon

Associate Producer: Donna Smith

Music by Barry De Vorzon

Cinematography by Robert C. New

Edited by Michael N. Knue

Casting by Ilene Starger

Production Design by George Costello

Art Direction by Maria Rebman Caso

Set Decoration by Maria Rebman Caso

Costume Design by Eileen Kennedy

Starring:

Jason Lively as Chris

Steve Marashall as J.C.

Jill Whitlow as Cynthia

Tom Atkins as Ray Cameron

Wally Taylor as Detective Landis

Bruce Solomon as Sgt. Raimi

Vic Polizos as Coroner

Allan Kayser as Brad

In this campy chiller, a college couple, in 1959, see an object plummet to Earth like a meteor. The boy accidentally swallows a space-slug that shoots out. In 1986, two freshmen roam the campus and stumble across the corpse of the boy who swallowed the space-slug. Once thawed out, the corpse comes to life.

“In the words of Detective Cameron…”Thrill Me!”  And for 23-years, this film has continued to thrill fans and has literally become a film that has achieved cult status.  Director Frank Dekker gets his wish for a release of a Director’s Cut with his original intended ending and fans of the film are treated to a reunion by the original cast 23-years later and also a tribute to the career of Tom Atkins.  Definitely an enjoyable DVD release and a great tribute to one of the more hilarious comedy horror films ever created.  Highly recommended!”

In 1986, a horror/zombie film called “Night of the Creeps” became a cult hit among fans due to the film’s comedic nature but also how it pays homage to the horror genre.

The film is written and directed by Fred Dekker (“The Monster Squad”, “RoboCop 3″, “Enterprise”), produced by Charles Gordon (“Field of Dreams”, “Die Hard”, “Hitman”), music by Barry De Vorzon (“The Twilight Zone”, “Tatoo”, “Private Benjamin) and cinematography by Robert C. New (“So Weird”, “Blade: The Series”).

Although never considered a scary, horror film, “Night of the Creeps” was a film that caught attention for its screenplay, its special effects and its campiness but it was one of those 80′s films that continues to be a fan favorite and for many years, many fans have waited for the film to be released on DVD.  On Oct. 27th, the film via a director’s cut receives a DVD and also a Blu-ray HD treatment and comes with the ending that Fred Dekker originally wanted and also a reunion of the cast 23 years later.

The film kicks off in a space ship where two aliens hunt down one of their own who has stolen an experiment.  The alien in pursuit manages to rid of the canister and launches it out into space.

The film then transitions to 1959 where a sorority girl goes out on a date with a guy and the two go out to a make out point.  The two are warned by a police officer, a young Ray Cameron (who dated the sorority girl) that a man has escaped from a mental ward and has hacked a few people with an ax.  The two ignore the officer but then see a falling star which crashes near them.  The guy and the girl drive to the area of where the meteorite may have crashed and the guy leaves the girl in the car.  The guy discovers a canister and a slug from the canister jumps into his mouth.  Meanwhile, the girl left alone in the car hears reports that the killer is headed towards their direction.  While screaming for the guy to get back into the car, she is unaware that the killer is about to slaughter her.

We are then taken to 1986 where two nerdy college students: Chris (played by Jason Lively, “Mancuso, FBI”, “Maximum Force”, “Monday Morning) and J.C. (played by Steve Marshall, “Night Heat”, “Sleeping in a Dream”) are walking around the fraternity and sorority section and see a girl across the street that captures his attention.  Chris is the silent type while his best friend and roommate J.C. (who has a disability and walks with crutches) is a lively jokester and tries to get the girl’s attention for his buddy.

Because Chris is so shy, J.C. manages to introduce the girl named Cynthia (played by Jill Whitlow, “Mask”, “Thunder Run”, “Twice Dead”) to his friend.  But she happens to be dating a frat guy and thus, Chris’s hopes are dash.  Chris comes up with an idea that they should join a frat and when they try, in order to join, they are told to take a body from the science lab and drop it in the front porch of another frat.

When Chris and J.C. go to the lab to retrieve the body and releases it from its incubator, the body (which happens to be the guy who discovered the cannister back in 1959) has awaken.  Startled by the body moving, Chris and J.C. run away in fear.

Meanwhile the scientist in charge of maintaining the body is killed by the zombie man and immediately, the zombie walks to the sorority where he went to visit the girl he was dating back in 1959 (the room of the girl is where Cynthia is now staying in).  Immediately, the man’s head blows up and slugs are released into the public.  The slugs tend to possess a person’s body, kills them from the inside and takes over their brain where they can breed and make more of their kind and continue the process of finding a body to breed in.

With murders happening on campus, detective Ray Cameron (played by Tom Atkins, “Halloween 3″, “The Fog”, “Bruiser”) remembers back in 1959 of how his girlfriend was hacked into pieces by the axe murderer who was never caught and worries that these killings may be the work of the killer.  He has suffered nightmares in which he sees a skeleton or zombie murdering his ex-girlfriend and with news from Chris and J.C. that the body inside the incubator moved, he worries about what is going on.

With zombie infestations now happening, the friendship of Chris and J.C. is tested, and Chris and Cynthia are brought closer together.  But will they be able to survive the onslaught of the zombies during the night of the big dance?

It’s important to note that “Night of the Creeps” is a Director’s Cut version and that it features the original ending that Director Fred Dekker wanted (the reason why it wasn’t used was because Dekker who was a new director at the time, showed an incomplete test screening to an audience and execs without the special effects and the audience and execs wanted a new ending).  The original theatrical ending is included on the DVD.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Night of the Creeps” is featured in 1L85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen.  For a 1986 film, I have to say that the picture quality is pretty good and I didn’t see any major compressions or massive warping.  I can only comment on the DVD version but it doesn’t look like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment used any major Digital Noise Reduction in the release, so I wonder how nice the Blu-ray transfer may have been.  But for the DVD itself, fans should be happy to know that this 23-year-old film looks good.

As for the audio, the audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital.  I was noticing mainly front and center channel dialogue and the music but nothing that caught my attention via the surrounds.  So, I ended up switching the audio to “Stereo on All Channels” on my receiver for a more immersive sound.  But for the most part, dialogue was clear and understandable and that 80′s new wave electronic music is clear as well.

Subtitles are presented only in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Fans of “Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut” will definitely enjoy the special features included on the DVD.  Included are the following:

• Commentary with Writer/Director Fred Dekker – An audio commentary with Michael, the DVD producer and Writer/Director Fred Dekker.   Dekker gives a more technical insight about the film and how certain cuts were made.  Especially certain scenes that Dekker enjoyed.
  
• Cast commentary (Jasone Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins) – A lively, hilarious and insightful commentary by the four talent of the film.   What’s even more interesting is to hear the cast see the original Fred Dekker ending for the first time.
  
• Original Theatrical Ending – (:30) The original theatrical ending.  Which one do you think is better?  It’s important to note that the Director’s Cut ending was shown on television while those who saw the original theatrical cut, own the VHS and LD saw this ending.
  
• Deleted Scenes -  (7:45) Seven deleted scenes:  The Girls Meet Johnny, J.C.’s Positive Thinking, Cameron vs. Raimi, Making cookies, Raimi Follows Protocol, Cameron Spies Spanky, Chris Stays Behind
  
• Birth of the Creeps – (10:43) Director Frank Dekker, the Cast and crew talk about Frank Dekker and how the film became a reality.
  
• Cast of the Creeps - (15:56) Featuring a reunion of the cast (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins) who talk about their involvement in the film and working with each other.
  
• Creating the Creeps – (10:31) How the special make-up FX was created and interviews with David B. Miller (Special Make-Up FX Supervisor), Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman (Special Make-Up FX Creator) talk about their involvement of the film, the challenges due to the short pre-production schedule and more.
  
• Escape of the Creeps – (11:35)  Charles Gordon (Producer), Michael Knue (Editor) and Director Frank Dekker talk about how the film became a hit with fans.  But also why the ending was changed and how they didn’t like the ending the execs wanted.
  
• Legend of the Creeps – (10:59) How over 23-years later, the film has a cult following and Director Frank Dekker and the cast talk about why they think the film has done so well with the fans.  Fans talk about why they love the film.  And how this film is so different from today’s horror films.
  
• Tom Atkins: Man of Action – (19:53) A celebration of Tom Atkins career and talking about his film career and tidbits of the talent he worked with in various films.  And how fans love to ask him questions about “Night of the Creeps”.
  
• Trivia Track – Fans can watch the film via trivia utilizing subtitles.
  
• Original Theatrical Trailer – (1:32) The original theatrical trailer
  

“Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut” is a film that has become a cult phenomenon.  Over 23-years later and fans continue to enjoy this classic zombie/horror film and it hearkens back to the days when horror films were allowed to have its share of humor and not always were created to frighten the viewer.  One of the things that I enjoyed about the film is for the fact that it’s hilarious, campy but I feel that in this day and age, horror films have become more or less studio cash cows and writers wanting to create the the most horrific and dark film.

Although, I’m not a horror fan by any means, I can easily remember films such as “Poltergeist”, “The Monster Squad” or “The Lost Boys” and although not necessarily horror films in today’s standards, back in the 80′s, they were very entertaining to watch and the films had its share of scary moments. You were allowed to laugh and be entertained but the clever writing knew when to scare the hell out of you.  These were films that families brought their kids out to see and a whole family can be frightened together.  “Night of the Creeps” was one of those films that can easily be enjoyed by families and a lot of those kids who watched it back then, are now enjoying it today as adults.

“Night of the Creeps” is a film that pays homage to classic horror films and is a part of Frank Dekker’s passion for sci-fi and horror films in the past.  The film also has that 80′s campiness that some have found enjoyable and some may find it not their cup of tea.  But it all comes down to the viewer and if one is wanting a comedy horror film, “Night of the Creeps” is definitely one of the best out there.

As for the DVD release of “Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut”, I’m sure people will have their say on what their favorite ending will be but for Frank Dekker, he never was a fan of shock endings and although losing the battle to have his original ending featured in the final theatrical cut, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has given him the thumbs up for a DVD release featuring his original intended ending for the film.    Also, I found the reunion by the cast and crew to be wonderful and also fun and enjoyable to not just listen to the commentary but also to see them goof around during the interview portion of the special features.  Also, Tom Atkins fans will definitely enjoy a tribute to his career and an interview where Atkins discusses his films and the talents that he has worked with.  So, I have no doubt in my mind that fans will find this DVD release to be entertaining and fun to watch.  It’s a solid DVD release!

Overall, if you are a big fan of this film, I highly recommend “Night of the Creeps: Director’s Cut” on DVD or Blu-ray.  And yes, you will definitely be “thrilled”.